SHIPS Could They? Should They? Will They?
 There has been a lot of discussion (again) around ships especially since it looks like there is a shake-up among the characters; whose with who and what relationships are ending and some that might be beginning. Currently Connorâs relationship is strained due to Robinâs health; Nina is paranoid as all get out because Will is back to publicly making goo goo eyes at Natalie. Natalie and Jeff broke up, Tate and April broke up, and Vicky and Ethan are done too. And who the hell knows whatâs going on with Sarah and Joey as they are trying to pull Rexton 2.0, the bootleg version, out of nowhere. Which made me wonder about all the ships; their pros and cons and what could happen or if it should and better yet will the writers ever do itâŚ.most of these Iâd say no cause I just donât believe it but itâs fun to see.
(Iâve only paired the ones that I have had people talk to me about or I know other people actively ship. Obviously the skyâs the limit here.)
Letâs start with the big 3.
Natalie Manning and Will Halstead
Ship name: Manstead
Why they work: Will genuinely cares about Natalie; he cares about her well-being and there is a protectiveness that he has for her. With that being said Natalie seems to have walked into a relationship without the effort or the pressure. She gets along with Will effortlessly and their friendship deepens because she doesnât have to think about betraying Jeff or what it means in the big picture, the feelings she has for him snuck up on her and there is something nice about that.
Why they wonât: A lot of shippers that love Manstead forgot about his behavior in the first season towards her. Itâs the classic I canât have you so Iâll treat you like shit. She was originally written pretty tough, witty, and someone that would never take his shit but as we watched her mourn her husband in-between him gas-lighting her every other episode (Like literally after the first 3) she lost a lot of her autonomy and her toughness and it dissolved the other half of the ship. Also another easily forgotten line is that he literally told her he was in love with her but not willing to wait while she mourned her husband that hadnât even been dead a yearâŚ.yikes.
Connor Rhodes and Sarah Reese
Ship Name: Rheese
Why they Work:The show has a very had time filling in the gaps for a ton of their characters but itâs hard to believe that Sarah didnât grow up wealthy. Her mother is a lawyer and from the sounds of it a litigator and a very successful one. She may not have multi-million dollar Dolan Rhodes money but they are by no means poorâŚand thatâs just a maybe, Connecticut (where Sarah is from) is one of the richest states in the nation. Anyway these two would bond over feelings of inadequacy as being a doctor in the world of monetary elites is still not that impressive so they talk about what itâs like to have everything and still be neglected and disrespected. He can take her to any place and she gets it because she was raised similarly.
Why they Wonât:Canonically Connor kind of has a thing for feisty women, both Robin and Sam were assertive and heâs drawn to a woman that will put him in his place. Sarah is just now getting comfortable in her skin let alone telling someone else how theirs should fit, also Connor is a bit of a rebel ; South America for med school, Riyadh for his residency. Sarah follows the rules.
Will Halstead and Connor Rhodes
Ship name: Rhodestead
Why they Work: Canonically these two really should already be best friends, they both lost their mothers, have one other sibling, strained relationships with their fathers, and special connections with their mentors whom they both ultimately lost. We watch them go to the ends of the earth for their patients but mostly because of ego which is this ships downfallâŚ.
Why they Wonât: They are both a bit egotistical. Both want to be top dog so badly, with it unceremoniously going to Halstead, I know we are in the Church of Connor Rhodes but Halstead is actually the better doctor. He was born with the talent that Connor is learning to get. However when it comes to people and jumping through hoops to get to conclusions Halstead is constantly doing them to Connor and ending up wrong every time. The verdict here is if it ever happened it would be slower than Manstead because this is literally when social worlds collide.
Ethan Choi and Sarah Reese
Ship name: Reethan
Why they Work: Rigid rule followers with a sense of discipline, although applied in different areas, these two have a strange balance of each other. He lifts her up so she can see that she can do more and with that teaching it gives her tenacity to step into that role. (Remember that gun episode? Sarah was not letting him steamroll her). She lends a softness to him that allows him to loosen up (which is much needed).
Why they Wonât: Besides the age gap, itâs kind of clear that Ethan only sees her as a kid-sister, a private, so to speak. I could see endless fights about her trying to help with his PTSD and him lightly and not so lightly telling her to back off.
April Sexton and Sarah Reese
Ship Name: Rexton
Why they Work: This has the potential to be literally THE CUTEST same-sex coupling on the show. Both of them are not the hard partying types, they tend to be the quintessential âgood girls.â Kind, easy going, and encouraging. This ship has presh written all over it. SO MUCH FLUFF.
Why they Wonât: When is the last time these two had a scene together? Yeah. Also Sarah has yet to really let her hair down, at least April does every now and then plus the inevitable fight between them about Aprilâs sacrificial lamb-like behavior for her brother and Sarahâs indecisiveness about her future.
Connor Rhodes and April Sexton
Ship Name: SexnRhodes
Why they Work: These two, after that pilot scene, there was chatter but they went nowhere. They couldâve been cute because April wouldâve actually been pampered and loved in a relationship where her partner respected her work and her drive. They also have that in common. April isnât just a nurse; sheâs a trauma nurse, who thrives under pressure, with speedy actions, thoughts, and choices. Connor is the same, even though he switched to cardio-thoracic surgery, he is still a rebel that likes the challenge and pace of quick decision making. Also can we talk about the secret fights/dirty talk they would have at work all in Spanish? That ship wrote itself butâŚ.
Why they Wonât: Itâs all a little too perfect right? Yeah April would definitely take issue with the way Connor fled after his motherâs death. She literally sacrificed her ability at being a doctor to help her little brother who is less talented. Even though there are feistier parts of her personality, I think Connor would end up running over her or getting bored.
Will Halstead and April Sexton
Ship Name: Sexstead
Why they Work: Both are catholic and grew up in Chicago, these two are driven and worked their way to where they are today with little or sometimes NO encouragement from the people that were supposed to love them. Confused and or dumped/bypassed by their crushes (Severide/Natalie) they would share some kind of basic ground for it. April and Will both thrive in the ED and she is an amazing nurse to him because of her speed and accuracy and his quick, logical, and usually correct analysis and diagnosis of the patients butâŚ
Why they Wonât: When they think theyâre rightâŚthey âre right (remember the drunk-guy going through DTâs episode?). She has no problem going toe-to-toe with him but they are both stubborn as hell (his insistence at her taking her meds when she was pregnant, how interesting that story wouldâve been if it was his baby) anyway this would still be a hard ship to sail cause Natalieâs ass would still be walking round the ED causing problemsâŚplus her and April were /are? friends.
Ethan Choi and Connor Rhodes
Ship Name: Rhoi
Why they Work: Aww the quiet little interracial M/M ship between the two hottest male doctors on the showâŚ(yeah I said it). This would be the curiosity ship, who are you? What do you like to do? I never knew that about you kind of relationship. Long talks/walks about the places they had traveled to and the unique cases and ways that they handled them during their times abroad.
Why they Wonât: Remember that ego thing that would tax the hell out of RhodesteadâŚ.Ethan Choi is not exempt from that either. Two alphas fighting for control when they are adamant about being right. Connor would cave, problems and fights would ensue.
Ethan Choi and April Sexton
Ship name: Chexton
Why they Work: Arguably the two best looking folks on the show (fight me) they could work because he is probably the second best doctor that works in the ED (I have made my feelings known about the first) and she is the best trauma nurse there. Theyâd bounce ideas off each other and then go back to the otherâs place for good-looking people sex afterwards. What they would talk aboutâŚno clue.
Why they Wonât: Remember the episode when April came back after her miscarriage and she was adamant about helping that women who was a mule? Yeah, Ethan is too black and white and the violence he has seen keeps him that way. April sees shades of grey and that would be a huge problem for them, handling cases, and then arguing about them when they got home.
Ethan Choi and Natalie Manning
Ship Name: Channing
Why they Work: One word: military. I could see them laughing over stories about basic training, bad military food, pranks, and residency stories. They would bond over his quiet love of children and her obvious field of pediatrics. His insomnia would be awesome for midnight feedings for Owen while she slept.
Why they Wonât: Remember when he mansplained pregnancy and childbirth as basically not being a factor in trauma (so cringe-worthy)? Yeah he doesnât respect Natalieâs opinions and that would END them. Also I donât see Natalie getting together with anyone that was enlisted ever again after what happened with Jeff one and two to be honest. Itâs time for her to try something new.
Natalie Manning and Connor Rhodes
Ship Name: Mannors ( I totally made this up and couldnât stop laughing soâŚ)
Why they Work: Barely, they are both attractive. Other than that when the show debut they couldnât have been in more different places in their lives, she was eight months pregnant and he had been overseas treating Saudi millionaires. The danger and excitement of his world may have intrigued Natalie at first and her relative mystery at not answering his questions about her husband might have made him curious butâŚ.
Why they Wonât: For all the reasons above, not to mention they stopped writing feisty Natalie like three episodes in and we ended up with second-guessing âjudgy -Mary Sue that I have so much contempt for. Connor likes decisive women that challenge him. Also Natalie seems like she has the healthiest family out of all the characters, Connor would feel like an outsider or feel a little ashamed opening up about his screwed-up family.
